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LEED ND: Built Project | v3 - LEED 2009

Walkable streets

NPDc1 |
Possible 12 points

Intent

To promote transportation efficiency, including reduced vehicle distance traveled. To promote walking by providing safe, appealing, and comfortable street environments that support public health by reducing pedestrian injuries and encouraging daily physical activity.

Requirements

A project may earn a maximum of 12 points according to the schedule in Table 1:

Items achieved

Points

2–3

1

4–5

2

6–7

3

8–9

4

10

7

11

8

12

9

13

10

14

11

15–16

12

Facades and entries

At least 80% of the total linear feet of street-facing building façades in the project is no more than 25 feet (8 meters) from the property line.

At least 50% of the total linear feet of street-facing building façades in the project is no more than 18 feet (5.5 meters) from the property line.

Figure 1. Minimal street-facing building façade setbacks

At least 50% of the total linear feet of mixed-use and nonresidential street-facing building façades in the project is within 1 foot (300 millimeters) of a sidewalk or equivalent provision for walking.

Functional entries to the buildings occur at an average of 75 feet (23 meters) or less along nonresidential or mixed-use buildings or blocks.

Figure 2. Functional building entries at minimum average distances along blocks

Functional entries to the buildings occur at an average of 30 feet (9 meters) or less along nonresidential or mixed-use buildings or blocks (items d and e are cumulative).

Ground-level use and parking

All ground-level retail, service, and trade uses that face a public space have clear glass on at least 60% of their façades between 3 and 8 feet (1 and 2.5 meters) above grade.

On-street parking is provided on a minimum of 70% of both sides of all new and existing streets, including the project side of bordering streets. The percentage of on-street parking is calculated by dividing the length of street designated for parking by the total length of the curb along each street, including curb cuts, driveways, and intersection radii. Space within the parking lane that is occupied by corner bulbouts (within 24 feet or 7 meters of an intersection), transit stops, and motorcycle or bicycle parking may be counted as designated for parking in this calculation. Woonerfs are not considered streets for this subsection.

Figure 5. On-street parking requirements

Continuous sidewalks or equivalent provisions for walking are available along both sides of all streets within the project, including the project side of streets bordering the project. New sidewalks, whether adjacent to streets or not, must be at least 10 feet (3 meters) wide on retail or mixed-use blocks and at least 5 feet (1.5 meters) wide on all other blocks. Equivalent provisions for walking include woonerfs and all-weather-surface footpaths at least 5 feet (1.5 meters) wide. Note that these requirements specify wider sidewalks than required by NPD Prerequisite 1, Walkable Streets.

If the project has ground-floor dwelling units, the principal floor of at least 50% of those units must have an elevated finished floor no less than 24 inches (600 millimeters) above the sidewalk grade. Below-grade basement spaces and/or accessory dwelling units are exempt from this requirement.

Figure 6. Minimal above-grade entrance requirements

In nonresidential or mixed-use projects, 50% or more of the total number of office buildings include ground-floor retail along 60% of the length of the street-level façade; 100% of mixed-use buildings include ground-floor retail, live-work spaces, and/or ground-floor dwelling units along at least 60% of the street-level façade; and all businesses and/or other community services on the ground floor are accessible directly from sidewalks along a public space, such as a street, square, paseo, or plaza, but not a parking lot.

At least 40% of all street frontages within the project has a minimum building-height-to-street-width ratio of 1:3 (i.e., a minimum of 1 foot or 300 millimeters of building height for every 3 feet or 900 millimeters of street width).

Nonmotorized rights-of-way may be counted toward the 40% requirement, but 100% of such spaces must have a minimum 1:1 ratio of building height to street width.

Projects with bordering street frontage must meet only their proportional share of the height-to-width ratio (i.e., only on the project side of the street).

Street frontage is measured in linear feet.

Building height is measured to eaves or the top of the roof for a flat-roof structure, and street width is measured façade to façade. For building frontages with multiple heights, use the weighted average height of all frontage segments based on each segment's height weighted by the segment's share of total building width.

Alleys and driveways are excluded.

Design speeds for safe pedestrian and bicycle travel

75% of residential-only streets within the project are designed for a target speed of no more than 20 mph (30 km/h). (existing streets may be exempted from calculations)

70% of nonresidential and/or mixed-use streets within the project are designed for a target speed of no more than 25 mph (40 km/h). A multiway boulevard, with travel lanes separated from access lanes by medians, may apply this requirement to its outer access lanes only (through-lanes are exempt), provided pedestrian crosswalks are installed across the boulevard at intervals no greater than 800 feet (245 meters). (existing streets may be exempted from calculations)

Sidewalk intrusions

At-grade crossings with driveways account for no more than 10% of the length of sidewalks within the project.

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